Gone Viral

You may have noticed but there is a thing going on which has turned everyday life on its head and affected just about every aspect of daily life, and public transport is no exception:

Plymouth Citybus

With the announcement yesterday (18th March) of schools closing, we will be moving to Saturday service levels every day between Monday 23rd March and Saturday 28th March 2020. Sunday 29th March 2020 will run as per a normal Sunday Service. There will be some additions to this to make sure that areas of the city that do not currently receive a Saturday service do so. This includes the 44A and services to Estover Industrial estate on service 34. (see sidebar download timetables)
Please refer to the timetables pages on our website for information on Saturday Services. If you have any questions please ring our customer services team on 01752 66 22 71. We have closed our Travel Centre on Royal Parade and relocated the resource to be able to answer questions over the phone.
We will be posting service updates on our twitter feed, which is also available on our website and via our app.
Plans are currently being drawn up to provide a super Sunday service from Monday 30th March 2020, where most services will reduce to Sunday service levels. We will maintain a higher service to the routes that feed Derriford Hospital. We will keep the public updated on the detail as soon as it is available.
All our buses accept Contactless payment and all day and week tickets are available via our app. By using these methods passengers will reduce physical contact.
We have concentrated our cleaning efforts on 'touch points' inside the bus, with increased cleaning levels. This does mean that there will be a time where the outside of the bus is not as clean as we would desire.
Plymouth City Council have lifted time restrictions for National Bus Pass Holders in the city, meaning holders can now travel for free anytime. Previously this was only allowed post 9.30am. 
We thanks our passengers during this time for their understanding on this matter.
It remains to be seen how all of this affects the launch of Transport for Cornwalls new services in 10 days time, as this whole virus thing could not have come at a worse time for that

Plymouth Citycoach

We are so sorry to have to inform you, that due to the current COVID–19 situation, Plymouth Citycoach is cancelling all forthcoming day trips, breaks and holidays inclusive from Wednesday 18^th March 2020 to 31 May 2020. 

We are now contacting all customers booked on trips and holidays by e mail and telephone to offer a full refund or credit on their account for future bookings later in the year. Our administration staff are working hard on these arrangements so please do not visit our Milehouse offices; we will contact you.

We will issue information updates on our forthcoming programme on this website and on our Facebook and Twitter accounts. Please stay safe and look after yourselves.

Plymouth Citycoach Team.

First Bus

To help keep you safe we're taking the following action:

• Stepping up our cleaning regimes including regular disinfection of all grab rails and poles, entrance door handles, window ledges and other touchpoints 
• Encouraging good hand hygiene amongst all our staff
• Displaying NHS advice on our buses wherever it is practical to do so.

We’d also value your help in staying up-to-date with the latest coronavirus information by using the NHS or Department of Health and Social Care websites.

• Wash your hands with soap and water frequently for at least 20 seconds.
• Use hand sanitiser whenever soap and water are unavailable.
• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze, and then place the tissue into the bin straight away.
• We encourage all customers to switch to contactless payments and purchasing tickets via our Mobile app where possible. We appreciate your assistance in helping to limit the spread of coronavirus.

Cornwall: All services currently operating to normal timetables. We will keep this page updated.

Stagecoach

Following the government advice to limit non-essential travel, we’re making temporary changes to our services and timetables from Monday 23 March. The changes ensure that essential routes are maintained wherever possible. The changes will vary by region depending on the local needs of our communities. We are currently reviewing services in all regions so please bear with us while we finalise the timetables. Please click below to view temporary timetables:
From Monday 23rd March 2020 our services will run on School Holiday timetables. Please be sure to check our timetables before travelling.
We know that there are lots of concerns about the current serious situation and the uncertainty that everybody is feeling at this time.  Our first priority is to protect the safety of our customers and our people.
We want to reassure you that we are adding additional precautions such as extra cleaning and following the very latest advice from the Government and public health authorities.
The situation is evolving daily; you may have to wait a little longer for some of our more frequent services at this current time. Please be patient, we are doing our best to retain our core services. We are prioritising our early, late and infrequent journeys so that people can continue to get to work and our rural communities remain connected.
We would like to encourage customers to use contactless payment where possible.

Devon County Council

National Bus Pass holders in the Devon County Council area will be able to use their bus pass for free travel on local services at any time of day from Friday 20th March 2020.
The bus pass is normally not valid until 9.30am on weekdays, but Devon County Council is temporarily lifting all time restrictions. This means older and disabled bus pass holders can access essential services and also take advantage of early opening arrangements shops may be offering during the coronavirus situation. There is greater capacity on the network at these times, allowing pass holders to exercise social distancing measures on buses with fewer passengers. Any passengers experiencing issues or problems using their bus pass should call 01392 383000 and ask for Concessionary Travel or email nationalbuspass@devon.gov.uk

Plymouth City Council

National bus pass holders in Plymouth will be allowed to travel on local services for free at any time of day from Thursday 19 March.
The bus pass is normally not valid until 9.30am on weekdays but the Council is temporarily removing all time restrictions. This so that older people can take advantage of the early opening arrangements many shops are offering during the coronavirus outbreak, should they need to do so.
Councillor Mark Coker, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, said: “A number of supermarkets and grocery stores are opening earlier than usual to allow older shoppers to buy food when it is quieter.
"However, those who need to use the bus are disadvantaged by the fact that they then need to pay for what for them in an essential trip.
"We hope that by lifting these restrictions, we can make a very stressful period just a little easier."
It is accepted that for some people, the bus is their only method of transport and going shopping for themselves is the only way of ensuring they have food in the cupboards. The lifting of time restrictions is designed for them.
Although this is a positive step, older people and those in vulnerable groups need to be aware of the government guidelines around social distancing.
The government are advising people in vulnerable groups who have friends or family that can shop for them, or can use online services, to use those methods rather than venture to the shops themselves.

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This situation is clearly going to get a lot worse before it hopefully starts to get better, although this could well last a few months at least. Its also changing every day so if you are intending to travel anywhere check with the operators web site first, or better still just dont travel. . I am now among many people working from home and I can see a lot of near empty buses running past my house. Its clearly not going to be sustainable for long.

Stay safe everybody.